“Our Daily Bread” http://odb.org/
The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie
The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie
“Homily Grits Devotional” http://www.homilygrits.com/
Matthew 16:23… But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (NKJV)
I don’t know about you…but I always found myself wondering what Jesus was trying to say, when He called Peter, Satan! The opening scripture has Jesus speaking to Peter, just after Jesus had told His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, where He would suffer at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, (and be raised the third day)…Matthew 16:21…
Peter’s immediate response to Jesus’ statement was this, in…Matthew 16:22… Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” (NKJV) Jesus responded to Peter with the opening scripture, calling him Satan!
I just listened to a 2 part audio sermon by Dr. Charles Stanley, that was titled…”Getting in God’s Way – Part 1 and Part 2″, that was dated Sept 02 & Sept 03, 2013…that can be found @ http://www.intouch.org/broadcast/audio-archives
Dr. Stanley used this incident between the apostle Peter and Jesus, to emphasize how important it is for Christians to be sure and try not to get in God’s way… I must tell you that my eyes were opened to this possibility of interfering between God and something He is trying to accomplish in the life of someone else…
Peter reacted instantly with his mortal mind and a heart that was saddened with the thought of his Lord being killed, when he heard Jesus say that He would suffer and be killed by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem…but that is all Peter heard Jesus say… By not hearing Jesus say that He would “be raised the third day”…Peter missed the entire point of what Jesus was trying to convey to His disciples…
Peter meant well, by trying to interfere with God’s plans for Jesus’ death… But Jesus was headed to Jerusalem for this very purpose of dying on the cross at Calvary…to provide a way for sinners to be cleansed by Jesus’ shed blood… We should never interfere with God’s perfect plan…
Everything I have ever learned by reading God’s Word, is that Christians should be constantly trying to help those in need… But stop and think for a minute !! What if we, out of our love and concern for a loved one, or a close friend, or even a total stranger…get in the way of God trying to bring this person to their knees through chastising or scourging ??
I believe that in many cases, wayward Christians won’t turn from their sinful ways, and look up and see Christ…until they hit bottom… If we do decide to help someone that is in desperate need…I can only suggest, based on the possibility of us getting in God’s way…that we don’t react hastily… We as Christians, should pray about helping someone…and then listen for confirmation from the Holy Spirit that its God’s will that we get involved…
Dr. Stanley teaches that we might be being selfish, when we help a loved one…because it is easier to spend some money or otherwise try to help them, than to see them suffer in anguish…
I truly hope you spend the time to listen to Dr. Stanley’s audio sermons (at least the 2nd day)… You just might come away with a totally different slant on the best way we as Christians can be relatively sure that we are not getting in God’s way…when we hastily react out of love, without seeking God’s will for the person we are trying to help…
Heavenly Father, I pray that eyes would be opened to the truth found in Your Word, and spoken by Your faithful servant Dr. Stanley… Help all of us Lord, through the power and the conviction of the Holy Spirit…to be sure our help we want to give someone out of our love and concern…is not interfering with Your will for their lives… I pray that You urge all of Your children to seek spiritual discernment…before we react out of emotions, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…
Blessings in Christ, bruce r mills
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